1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to document feeders and more particularly to a high-speed check feeder that singulates and feeds checks from a supply stack of checks; accumulates a predetermined number of the singulated checks in a check-stack package; and, realigns and delivers the check stack package to further handling means.
2. Prior Art and Other Considerations
Various document feeders are known and have been employed for feeding and processing documents such as bank checks. In particular, such feeders are used for mailing bank statements including checks. Bell U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,761, for example, discloses a bank-statement processing machine.
In general, the processing of checks requires particular reliability in view of the strict need to preserve confidentiality. For example, checks destined for a specific customer should not be included by mistake in mailings to another customer, and all checks belonging to a bank statement should accompany the respective statement in the proper mail package. In view of the continually increasing need for handling and processing higher quantities of documents at high speeds and high throughput rates, reliability and speed requirements are becoming more and more stringent while the market simultaneously demands constantly increasing throughput rates.
Prior art document feeding equipment, particularly for the feeding of checks, has consistently suffered from problems caused by the checks' low mass, flimsiness, size differences, differences in paper properties, and the like. Varying friction, windage and electrostatic effects, and similar effects arising during processing have been a source of difficulties that have been encountered particularly in the handling and processing of checks at higher speeds. Such problems and difficulties have resulted in misalignment of checks relative to one another and in relation to machine structures during the processing of checks. Consequent machine malfunction, jamming, or incorrect processing has plagued the art of document feeding--particularly high-speed check feeding.
The task for check feeding equipment employed in conjunction with the preparation and mailing of checks in association with a corresponding bank statement is essentially to singulate and feed a predetermined number of checks from a supply stack. The checks are then accumulated into an appropriate check package for insertion into a mailing envelope together with the associated bank statement (and sometimes also with other documents). The aforementioned problems and difficulties occur primarily during feeding of the singulated checks and during their accumulation into a check package. Thus, the misalignment of checks (skewing, lagging, and the like) can result in checks being ineffectively accumulated in a package. Further handling of such a flawed or faulty package, for example in attempts to insert the package into an envelope, can be very troublesome.
Document feeders of a kind suited to the foregoing task currently feed up to about forty checks per second, albeit not always at adequate reliabilities.
The document feeder of the present invention reduces and avoids difficulties and problems of the aforementioned kind by restraining singulated checks from significant misalignment as they are being fed for accumulation and, by realigning the accumulated check package while it is being delivered to further handling means. The document feeder of the invention can operate at throughput rates of up to about 75 to 80 checks per second (or more), at an adequate reliability that at least equals or significantly exceeds the operational reliability of conventional feeders.
Accordingly, an important overall feature of the invention is the provision of an improved document feeder and an improved method of feeding documents or checks reliably at high processing speeds, wherein the feeder singulates and feeds singulated checks for accumulation into a check package that is realigned while it is being delivered to further handling means.